Safeguarding Used Equipment

Used industrial equipment such as press brakes and saws offer significant savings and allow companies to increase their production with a smaller capital outlay compared to new machines. While new machines usually feature state-of-the-art safety devices, used equipment may not. The reasons can include age, previous owner(s) not maintaining safety devices and/or removing them. There is no known regulation that requires resellers to ensure that used equipment is equipped with the OEM safety controls or is brought up to current standards.

Fortunately, OSHA has published a document titled Safeguarding Equipment and Protecting Employees from Amputations (OSHA 3170-02R) that is available free online as a pdf file. Its sixty pages cover press brakes, printing presses, food slicers, meat grinders, band saws, etc. and contain many illustrations that describe methods of safeguarding machines for worker safety.

For companies interested in woodworking safety, a similar document is available, titled A Guide for Protecting Workers from Woodworking Hazards it describes methods of safeguarding various types of saws, jointers, shapers, routers, etc. and discusses other health hazards related to noise, vibration and wood dust.